Southern Pecan Pie (+Video)
The Best Southern Pecan Pie is made with a flaky pie crust, real butter, dark corn syrup, a touch of cinnamon and fresh pecans.
A THICK AND RICH FILLING
If I had to choose my most absolute favorite pie in the world – I would have to say it is this one right here. I love pie. I love all kinds of pie. In fact, I doubt there are many pies out there that I don’t like. But my favorite has got to be the good ole Southern Pecan Pie. My Butter Crumble Apple Pie is a very close second.
WHAT IS THE BEST PIE CRUST TO USE?
And pecan pie is probably one of the easiest homemade pies you can bake. There isn’t a whole lot involved. You dump almost all the ingredients in a bowl, then you stir, pour, and bake. And lucky for us, you can get really tasty frozen pie crusts and refrigerated pie crusts these days. Or if you wanna do it all up from scratch, use your favorite pie crust recipe or maybe try my Wham Bam Pie Crust recipe.
TIPS FOR MAKING PECAN PIE:
- Don’t over-bake. You don’t want burnt pecans on top. They will taste bitter and ruin the taste of the pie. If necessary, cover the pie with some aluminum foil.
- The pie will still be a little jiggly when you pull it out of the oven. It will continue to bake slightly even after you remove it from the oven.
- The dark corn syrup in this recipe really adds such a great flavor because of the molasses that is in dark corn syrup. It’s not so sweet that you think you might break a tooth. You can substitute with light corn syrup though if it’s all you have.
- The touch of ground cinnamon is that little ingredient that really brightens the other flavors up a bit. You don’t really taste it as a separate ingredient.
- A tip about “beaten eggs”:For those of you who may be new to baking, when a recipe calls for beaten eggs, that means you need to whisk (or use a fork) the eggs together before adding them to the batter. This just helps the eggs to better incorporate into the rest of the batter.
- How to easily measure honey or corn syrup: to easily measure and pour corn syrup, spray a little nonstick cooking spray in your measuring cup first. This will allow the sticky corn syrup to easily glide out of your measuring cup (works great for peanut butter and molasses too!)
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- frozen pie crust, refrigerated pie crust or make your own
- chopped pecans
- eggs
- sugar
- salted butter
- dark corn syrup
- ground cinnamon
- vanilla extract
HOW TO MAKE SOUTHERN PECAN PIE:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Take frozen pie crust out of the freezer and place it on a baking sheet while preparing the filling. Or, if you are using the Wham Bam Pie Crust, prepare the crust, prick it with a few holes using a fork, and then stick it in the refrigerator while preparing filling.
In a medium bowl, whisk together beaten eggs, sugar, melted butter, corn syrup, ground cinnamon and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined. Place the pecans into the bottom of your pie crust. Then pour the filling on top of the pecans.
You’ll notice that the pecans will start to float to the top.
I like to put my pie on a baking sheet to make it easier to put in and take out of the oven. But if you are using your own pie pan, you can skip that step. Bake for about 45-50 minutes. Around the 20 minute mark, you may want to add some aluminum foil on top of the pie and around the edges of your pie crust to keep it from getting too browned. Oven times do vary, but basically, the middle of the pie should be just a little jiggly and the center will puff up a bit.
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Originally published: May 2012
Updated and republished: November 2019
Southern Pecan Pie (+Video)
Ingredients
- 1 (9-inch) frozen pie crust (or refrigerated pie crust)
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
- Take 1 (9-inch) frozen pie crust out of the freezer and place it on a baking sheet while preparing the filling. If using a refrigerated pie crust, roll it into your pie pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 large eggs, beaten, 1/2 cup white granulated sugar, 3 Tablespoons salted butter, melted, 1 cup dark corn syrup, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.
- Place 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans into the bottom of the pie crust.
- Then pour the filling on top of the pecans.
- Bake for about 45-50 minutes.
- Around the 20 minute mark, you may want to add some aluminum foil on top of and around the edges of your pie crust to keep it from getting too brown.
- Oven times do vary, but basically, the middle of the pie should be just a tad jiggly when done (not overly jiggly) and the center will puff up a bit.
Video
Notes
- Don’t over-bake. You don’t want burnt pecans on top. They will taste bitter and ruin the taste of the pie. If necessary, cover the pie with some aluminum foil.
- The pie will still be a little jiggly when you pull it out of the oven. It will continue to bake slightly even after you remove it from the oven.
- The dark corn syrup in this recipe really adds such a great flavor because of the molasses that is in dark corn syrup. It’s not so sweet that you think you might break a tooth. You can substitute with light corn syrup though if it’s all you have.
- The touch of ground cinnamon is that little ingredient that really brightens the other flavors up a bit. You don’t really taste it as a separate ingredient.
-
A tip about “beaten eggs”:For those of you who may be new to baking, when a recipe calls for beaten eggs, that means you need to whisk (or use a fork) the eggs together before adding them to the batter. This just helps the eggs to better incorporate into the rest of the batter.
-
How to easily measure honey or corn syrup: to easily measure and pour corn syrup, spray a little nonstick cooking spray in your measuring cup first. This will allow the sticky corn syrup to easily glide out of your measuring cup (works great for peanut butter and molasses too!)
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
This is my third year using this recipe! My family asks me to make this pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It really is a great pie and crazy simple to make. Everyone absolutely loves this pie.
Can this Pecan Pie be made in a crockpot? I dont have an oven
OMG this Pecan Pie is really really good!!! My family is from Louisiana and my grandmothers, aunts & mom always made the best tasting Pecan Pies. I’ve been searching for a Pecan Pie recipe that was at least half as tasty as theirs but to no avail. Until I came across yours. Just reading the recipe and looking at the picture made me think this could be the one. And yes I was absolutely right, it is! It reminds me of the great pecan pies I grew up eating. I baked one for my sister. And it brought her to tears because she thought I had found my grandmother’s recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It is now my only go to recipe for pecan pie!
This is a great recipe, I have enjoyed it. Thanks
Thanks so much Faye!
AWESOME PIE! I made it for our community Thanksgiving and got rave reviews…but some did not like the cinnamon. I decided to make it again for our family Thanksgiving, leaving out the cinnamon, and it was absolutely wonderful!!
HOWEVER after looking at recipes for PECAN BARS, I decided to forego the pie, and make pecan bars. OMG!! They were soooo amazingly good, I WILL ALWAYS MAKE BEST SOUTHERN PECAN PIE BARS!
I used my regular recipe for 2 single crust pies, and just pushed all the the crust dough into a parchment lined cookie sheet, 15 x 10. I baked this at 350 for 15 minutes, and then topped it (while warm) with 1-1/2 recipes of your Best Southern Pecan Pie filling. I baked this for 25 minutes more.
Consider PECAN BARS-easier to make, watch them disappear!
Wow – what a fantastic comment!! Thank you so much. Love all of your feedback and suggestions!!
Can I make this with a shortbread crust?
Can I use molasses instead of corn syrup cause its all I have an it wasn’t cheap only used it once for wings I found a recipe on?
This is the same recipe I’ve been using for years that I got out of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Except for the cinnamon. That sounds intriguing! I’ll have to try it.
Hi Aileen! The cinnamon just adds a unique background flavor that is not strong but it definitely sets it apart from every other pecan pie recipe out there! 😉
With the exception of the cinnamon,this recipe has been in my family for 125 years. Easiest pie in the world to make.
I’m a novice (guy) pie maker. I love pecan pie and gave this one a whirl. I have a compulsion, according to my wife, to change recipes. I didn’t have dark corn syrup. I had light, though- so I went with a 75/25 blend of light corn syrup/ molasses. It was AWESOME, everyone raved and that pie dissapeared quicker than a whistle and a wink. Will be doing this one time and again, so easy, and it’s a beautiful pie- what’s NOT to like? I’ve always enjoyed reading your recipes, the great info mixed with a little downhome storytelling is a powerful good combination. Keep on keepin’ on, you’re one of my very few go-to sources for great recipes!
I made this for Thanksgiving (2018). I’d never made a pie before. Everyone loved it. Sonic you’re here for feedback, I just came back to make it again for a family dinner tomorrow. This recipe is so easy and it is delicious!
*So if you are here (yikes haha, guess I should proof read)
Just put in the oven, can’t wait to try it.
I’m going to be making this today. Can I use pralines instead of regular pecans? I’m worried about it getting too sweet.
Thanks!
I made this pie, and it tasted delicious!